| Introduction Do you remember Juan Valdez from the coffee commercials? 100% pure Colombian coffee, the richest coffee in the world. When I saw that commercial for the first time and saw the posters at the grocery store, I was very puzzled. What was the virtue of 100% pure Colombian coffee? I grew up with Colombian coffee being the cheapest coffee you could get because it had no taste. So, 100% pure Colombian coffee was the same as 100% pure tasteless coffee. Yet, the idea that it was 100% pure was very alluring, though it was just a marketing ploy. What Jesus says here, however, is no marketing ploy. The happy person is the one who is pure in heart because he/she will see God. This beatitude is a reflection of Ps. 24 (all beatitudes reflect the psalms). Ps. 24:3-5 – Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. If this is the case, who is able to see God? Who is able to come into God's presence? I know my heart and I know what the Scriptures say about my heart. Jer. 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Mt. 15:19 – For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. To answer these questions, we must think of the beatitudes as already and not yet statements at the same time. Since the resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus, we live in a period when he has already established his kingdom, he has already defeated Satan, he has already delivered us from sin and death. But some aspects of the work and reign of Christ are not yet fully manifested and will not be fully manifested till his coming again. Each beatitude includes both aspects. They tell us what we already are in Christ and what we are becoming through the work of the Spirit in our hearts as we are sanctified by the grace of God in Christ. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you are the pure in heart and you will see God because of your union with Christ. At the same time, you are becoming in yourself pure in heart as you are conformed more and more to the image of Christ. I. The Already: You are Pure in Heart. A. Let's start by taking a look at the words blessed, pure, and heart themselves. 1. Blessed a. Happy, full of joy. b. Both OT and NT words carry this meaning. 2. Pure. a. Cleansed. b. Similar to holy. c. Word from which we get the English word catharsis. d. It carries the idea of purging. Mt. 23:26 – Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Jn. 13:10-11 – Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean." Jn. 15:3 – You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. e. This purity is necessary in order to see God. Heb. 12:14 – Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord… 3. Heart a. The heart is who the person truly is – when there is no pretense, no barriers, no walls, no make up, who we really are. b. It is often called the nature. c. It is the wellspring of life, the control center for life. Pro. 4:23 – Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. d. It is what pushes and controls our will. Mt. 12:34-35 – For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. "The heart, the very mainspring of dispositions as well as of feelings and thoughts…" William Hendriksen B. You are already pure in heart because of the promise of the New Covenant. Ez. 36:25-26 – Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 1. God has reached down and reached into you and taken away your heart of stone and given you a pure heart. 2. This is the new birth that Christ speaks about in John 3. 3. This is the regenerative work of the Spirit of God in which he grabs people who are dead in their trespasses and sins and makes them alive through Jesus Christ. Eph. 2:1-7 – And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 4. When we read Psalm 24, we see Jesus as the righteous one – historically, this psalm has been associated with Christ's ascension into heaven described in Acts 1. Ps. 24:3-5 – Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. a. Jesus ascended into God's holy hill. b. He stood before the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart. c. And because of our union with him, the Father sees us as he sees his Son – pure and holy. 5. Not only that, but he has cleansed us and freed us from the power of sin. 1 Cor. 6:9-11 – Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 2 Cor. 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Rom. 6:11, 14 – Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord…. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. C. As a result of this change of heart we get to see God, now with the eyes of faith, but there will come a day that we will see him as he is. 1 Jn. 3:1-2 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. "The pure in heart will see God – now with the eyes of faith and finally in the dazzling brilliance of the beatific vision in whose light no deceit can exist." D.A. Carson II. The Not Yet: You are Becoming Pure in Heart. A. One of the results of a new, pure heart is that we will pursue purity. 2 Tim. 2:22 – Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. "Inward sham, deceit, and moral filth cannot coexist with sincere devotion to Christ." D. A. Carson B. As matter of fact, you cannot pursue purity in life without a new heart (this has been the case from the beginning). Mt. 15:7-9 – Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " Dt. 10:16 – Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. Dt. 30:6 – And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. C. How do I keep my heart pure and how do I pursue purity? 1. By reading, hearing, memorizing, and meditating on the Word of God. Jn. 17:17 – Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Ps. 119:9, 11 – How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word…. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Heb. 4:12-13 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 2. By obeying God's Word. 1 Pt. 1:22-25 – Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever." 3. By praying. Ps. 51:10 – Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ps. 19:12-13 – Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. 4. By being involved in each others' lives. Gal. 6:1 – Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Cor. 7:1 – Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 5. By attending to the sacraments. 1 Cor. 10:14-17 – Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. WLC 162 – What is a Sacrament? Sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his Church, to signify, seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant of grace, the benefits of his mediation; to strengthen and increase their, faith and all other graces; to oblige them to obedience; to testify and cherish their love and communion one with another; and to distinguish them from those that are without. Conclusion Purity of heart is not only a matter of cleanliness, but also a matter of commitment of the heart and will to the Lord. He has given you a pure a heart. Now live in purity.
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